In audio applications, many audio interface and processing systems may be required to provide duplex operations, which comprise the capability to collect audio information through a sensor or microphone while at the same time being able to drive a speaker or earpiece with processed audio data. In order to carry out these operations, audio interface and processing systems may utilize audio COding and DECoding (CODEC) devices that provide appropriate gain, filtering, and/or analog-to-digital conversion (ADC) in the uplink direction to an audio data processing system and may also provide appropriate gain, filtering, and/or digital-to-analog conversion (DAC) in the downlink direction from the audio data processing system.
FIG. 1A illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary audio interface and processing system. Referring to FIG. 1A, an audio interface and processing system 100 may comprise a microphone 102, a speaker 104, an audio CODEC 106, and a processor 108. The audio CODEC 106 may receive audio information from the microphone 102 and process the received audio information before transferring it to the processor 106. The audio CODEC 106 may also receive audio information from the processor 106 and process the received audio information before transferring to the speaker 104. The processing of audio information provided by the CODEC 106 may comprise encoding and decoding operations. The processor 108 may be adapted to provide digital signal processing to audio information. The processor 108 may be connected to a network and may be adapted to control the transfer of audio information to and from the network. The processor 108 may also be connected to a plurality of data processing devices and may be used to transfer audio information to and from the plurality of data processing devices.
The audio interface and processing system 100 in FIG. 1A may be used, for example, in mobile or wireless handsets where the microphone 102 may collect voice data from a local user while the speaker 104 may provide the local user with voice data from a remote user. The audio CODEC 106, when utilized in wireless handsets, may be optimized to provide efficient coding of the local user's voice data and decoding of the remote user's voice data while the processor 108 may be optimized to provide efficient digital signal processing operations on coded voice data.
The added functionality and advanced applications that may be available in novel audio communication systems may require that audio interface and processing systems in wireless devices allow the user to receive additional audio data in order to interact with the added functionality of the applications. However, audio interface and processing systems, and more specifically, CODEC devices, may not provide the user with an interface that may combine audio data with additional information, and may therefore limit the user's ability to utilize interactive functions and applications that may be available in newer audio-based communication systems.
Further limitations and disadvantages of conventional and traditional approaches will become apparent to one of skill in the art, through comparison of such systems with some aspects of the present invention as set forth in the remainder of the present application with reference to the drawings.